Chapter 18
Anyone with a keen eye could have guessed from what Mr. Chen San said just now that there would be a change in the East Courtyard, and it would probably be the Aunt Liu who would be in charge of the East Courtyard in the future.
Although the servants in the Chen Mansion received their monthly wages directly from the public accounting office, they worked in the East Courtyard. If they offended the person in charge of the East Courtyard, they would be assigned to work in the supply house or the outer courtyard, which would be exhausting and they would never get ahead in their lives.
The way they looked at Liu Yu was different now. There was no more contempt, only flattery. However, there were exceptions.
Nanny Hua looked at her with an unfriendly look, as if she could eat someone. There were also two maids closer to Nanny Hua who looked at Liu Yu with gloomy eyes. While looking her up and down, they were thinking in their hearts that they had to think of some way to squeeze her out.
When Liu Yu looked over, they forced a smile.
How could Liu Yu not see their thoughts?
Not only could she see what they were thinking, but she could also roughly guess what they were in charge of from the clothes they wore.
The woman standing on the far left was fat and strong, with a lot of grease spots on her dark brown coat. The Chen Mansion was a large family. In addition to the public kitchen, each master had a small kitchen in his yard. This woman should be in charge of the small kitchen.
The person who was in charge of the kitchen had a lot of mud on his hands and feet. He should be the one in charge of the flowers and plants in the yard.
A new emperor appoints his own ministers, and the same goes for the harem. These are all lucrative affairs, no wonder they are hostile to her.
However, Liu Yu had no intention of managing the backyard for Master Chen San. He planned to wait for Master Chen San to come back tonight and talk to him.
So she doesn't care what they are thinking.
After recognizing everyone and giving them some money for meeting, Liu Yu waved everyone away.
She had sat down to rest for less than a cup of tea when a maid walked in from outside, followed by two maids.
"Aunt Liu, these are the two maids that the Second Madam picked for you according to the Third Master's instructions. The older one is fourteen and her name is Chunju, and the younger one is thirteen and her name is Xiaoling."
"Third Master's order?"
"Yes."
Liu Yu thought! It was enough for her to have Guyu and the other three to serve her in her room, but after all, it was ordered by Third Master Chen himself. If she returned it, not only Third Master, but also Second Madam would lose face and would say she was ungrateful.
"Since it was the Third Master's order, please go back for me. Thank you, Second Madam." Liu Yu smiled and gestured to give the nanny some reward.
The nanny thanked her and left with a smile on her face.
Lixia looked at the purse that had just been filled and was now deflated, and said with heartache:
"My lady, this is all the money you have worked so hard to earn, and now it is going to be lost again."
Liu Yu didn't care and smiled:
"There are many people in the mansion, that's it."
"Will it always be like this in the future?" Thinking of her wife embroidering handkerchiefs day and night, and the money she earned was gone before the bag was even warm, Jingzhe felt distressed! She was thinking, if only she could embroider and help her wife make money.
Liu Yu did not deny that if she wanted to live a stable life, she would need money, so after she was reborn, she began to think about this issue.
Now that she has taken the first step in selling handkerchiefs, she plans to save some money and then open an embroidery workshop.
Seeing the girls looking pale, Liu Yu consoled them:
"We can earn money again if we lose it, but if we don't take good care of these people, we will have a hard time in the future. Besides, as long as we embroider the three dresses that the customers want, we will have money again."
When the little girls thought of this, they became happy.
The two maids that Guyu sent to the second wife were arranged to clean the outer courtyard and also came back.
When Lixia and the others saw Guyu coming back, they didn't dare say anything anymore and went outside to the yard to help.
"Guyu, watch outside. I'll take a break."
Liu Yu didn’t get a good rest after moving to a new place last night. Today she also sorted books and received so many people, so she felt a little tired.
……
When Liu Yu woke up, it was already dark outside. The people from Tingzhuxuan were already waiting outside the door, and she had forgotten about this matter.
She sat up and called out to Guyu.
The door opened, and the person who came in was not Guyu, but a maid. She was holding a tray with a smoky red gauze dress on it.
"Aunt Liu, my name is Qingyi, and I was sent by the old lady to serve you." Then several maids came in from outside, carrying buckets of water and pouring them into the bathtub.
"Yes," Liu Yu nodded, and they helped her bathe and change clothes, which gave her an illusion that she had returned to her previous life.
Maybe it was because she had served King Qi before, but at this moment she didn't feel much aversion, and even felt that she had made a good deal.
She shook her head with a smile.
Qingyi: "Madam, what are you laughing at?" Liu Yu's smile was indeed very strange.
It didn't look like a happy, excited smile at all.
Liu Yu stopped laughing: "Nothing, it's just that when the Third Master left, he said that he would come to Qinyuanju when he came back. Will you miss it?"
"Don't worry, Auntie. The Third Master has already sent a letter to the mansion. He will be back later in the evening. The old lady wants you to wait in Tingzhu Pavilion."
After hearing Qingyi's words, Liu Yu understood. Looking at herself dressed up in the bronze mirror, she became dazed.
……
The Wenxuan Hall of the Imperial Palace.
The emperor threw his subordinate's memorial heavily on the dragon table:
"Can someone explain to me why the Xunjiang River dam that was built two years ago collapsed this year and flooded three counties? You only reported it to me at that time. Do you think I'm a fool?"
The great prince knelt down in a crowd, not daring to breathe.
"Investigate for me. I want to see who is involved in this. They suck my blood and don't take the lives of ordinary people seriously..."
Then the emperor ordered the Dali Temple to investigate the dam breach, with the assistance of the cabinet, and later sent two officials to Lingnan. . .
It was after the hour of You that the ministers came out of the Wenxuan Hall. Just as they walked out of the hall gate, Mr. Chen San was stopped by his teacher Zhou Zheng. Also stopped was the cabinet scholar Kong Ming. They went to the Ministry of Works together overnight.
By the time they left the Ministry of Works, it was almost time for the palace to close its doors.
Seeing that his colleague had no intention of returning to the duty room, Kong Ming was surprised:
"Sir Chen, are you planning to go back so late?" In the past, his colleague would usually rest in the duty room in the palace.
Mr. Chen San squeezed the piece of paper in his hand. It was handed to him by the eunuch who came to deliver food to him in the filing room of the Ministry of Works.
When he thought of Liu Yu waiting in Tingzhuxuan, a fleeting smile flashed across Mr. Chen San's cold black eyes.
He nodded:
"Go back." As he said this, he had already walked away.
Watching Mr. Chen San leaving in a hurry, Kong Ming muttered:
"Is Lord Chen desperate? Why is he so anxious?" It seems like there is a girl waiting for him.
He smiled with relief and turned to go to the duty room.
Here, Master Chen San rushed out of the palace before the palace gate was locked, and sat in the sedan chair parked in front of the carriage door.
Feng Xiao, who was waiting in front of the sedan chair, was a little surprised to see that his master had actually left the palace.
He had asked someone to deliver the message, so he naturally knew the reason. In his mind, he raised Liu Yu's position several levels again.